Lawmakers enter final days of formal sessions

BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts Legislature is entering the final days of formal meetings with a number of unfinished items still on the agenda.

The two-year session ends on Thursday. Lawmakers can continue meet informally after that, but only to consider routine or non-controversial measures.

Among bills that are still pending is one calling for sweeping changes in the state’s gun laws. House and Senate negotiators are trying to reach a compromise after the Senate stripped out a House-passed provision that would give police chiefs more discretion in issuing permits to own rifles and shotguns.

Other bills awaiting final action include a proposal to tighten domestic violence laws and a measure to address security around abortion clinics after the in U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state’s previous 35-foot buffer zone.